STATE EXAMS: Absence of Berlin blockade causes stir

The absence of a question about the Berlin blockade was something that may have upset many Junior Certificate students who took yesterday afternoon’s higher level paper.

This was the view of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) history spokesman Fintan O’Mahony. Although there is no guarantee of all three superpower topics coming up, he said the fact that Korea and the Cuban missile crisis were examined but not the Berlin blockade might have forced some candidates to attempt another section.

He said a short question on Mary Robinson’s job after being President would have thrown most students, despite being worth very few marks, as it appeared so early on the paper. He reported students had difficulty identifying a leader in Ireland’s struggle for independence between 1900 and 1912but said alternative questions were fine, as were those on exploration and on ancient Ireland.